Jukebox-- Be careful about that nail-bitting. If you run out of nail, you might start on your finger, and if you lose your fingers, how can you click on the button to review?Sue Penkivech-- My deepest apologies for the wait, I can only pray I made it worth your while.Wishful Thinking2-- Glad to hear that you're healthy!Rupeshwari-- Thank you.xXrogue-demonXx-- Rogue seems too possessive? Or just possessive? Personally, I think she's trying to put Jean in her place.Natural--Remy's innocence is discussed this chapter. As for a confrontation between him and Teri, who's to say I've decided yet?ManualImpact-- I think my eyes are lying to me. But your review seemed to insinuate that my writing was better than that of the great Chris Claremont himself! 'Scuse me while I rub my eyes some more...T.-- Dude, you have got to be the most faithful reviewer I've ever encountered!Beaubier--Well, wrote another chapter. Just thought I'd let ya know.Jean1-- The Jean/robot thing was a flirting joke as far as I'm concerned. I only mentioned it as an example of Remy's flirtatious nature, and how much of a womanizer he was when he first joined Xavier's team. As for Lapin, I think you may find him to be a little less mature than the group's resident child.
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CHAPTER 18: ALL IN THE FAMILY
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He was sifting through a cardboard box of old games when he happened upon the box: Twister. A boyish grin crept onto Emil Lapin's face as he removed the puerile game from its container. Now all he needed was someone to play it with.
He scurried downstairs looking for someone to join him. He looked over his family: The United Guild of Thieves and Assassins. Granted, Emil was a thief, so he had never really felt at home around the assassins, but he respected them well enough.
The one he respected most was the current guild mistress, Belladonna Boudreaux. She was playing cards with her main hit-man, Gris-gris, and Emil's older cousin, Theo. Lapin scratched his head. Cards was the closest those three ever came to playing games. Bella and Theo were definitely the serious sort, and Gris-gris would take any excuse to beat poor Emil up.
He looked beyond the card game for different options. Fifolet, Singer, and Questa,--being assassins--were out of the question. The only two people residing at the old house who might indulge him were Mercy LeBeau and Tante Mattie. Unfortunately, Tante was not the 'Twister-playing' type, and Mercy was out shopping.
Emil resigned himself to a night without Twister. Maudlin thoughts began to creep into his mind: things would be different if Remy were still around. His child-hood friend would never have allowed such dull nights to occur if he were still leading the guild.
Granted, Remy had been a little more serious that usual when burdened with the responsibility of guild patriarch. But, Emil could never forget the memories of long nights of pulling pranks, getting in trouble with Jean-luc, and tinkering with military jets....they were beautiful memories.
Then the doorbell rang.
Everyone froze. The Guild hardly ever received guests, and they never entered by means of the ancient doorbell. No guild member had even been aware that the door had a bell.
It rang again.
Emil remained still as Theo interrupted the card game to walk to the main door. Every member held their breath in anticipation and they heard the door slowly creaking open beyond the room.
"YOU?!?"
The guild members tensed as they heard the venom in Theo's voice a room away. There were a few other muttered whispers between him and the visitor until the door was finally opened all the way. Then the two men walked into the main room.
"REMY!"
Now Emil understood why it paid to drop coins into the fountain: you didn't get small wishes right away, they were saved up for when you wanted something big. He rushed to his cousin in the largest strides possible and swept him up into a bear hug, actually picking him up from the floor with his slightly smaller frame.
Beyond them, Theo was gritting his teeth. He and Remy had never gotten along, though no one seemed to understand exactly why, other than Remy himself.
"Merci, Deiu! I was jus' t'inkin' about ya, cuz! It was jus' sittin' dere, wit' a game a'twister, wonderin' if I'd ever see y' again! An' I did! I did! I--"
"Twister?"
Remy's mouth was curled into a curious smile at the red-head's antics when Emil realized that there were other people at the entry way.
Four women--all beautiful, four other men, and a little boy. One of the women looked familiar to Emil, and he smiled, realizing her identity.
"H'llo, chere, you mus' be--"
"Rogue!"
Emil turned to Belladonna's voice. The tension in the room raised as the knowledgeable recalled the history between the two women: Rogue had stolen Bella's memories, but in turn, Belladonna had killed Rogue's childhood companion, Cody Robins, under the instruction of the former Guild benefactress, Candra.
Surprizingly, Belladonna laid back into her chair, as though remembering some decision she had made.†
"Welcome. T'what do we owe de pleasure o' dis lil' meetin'?"
"Sanctuary, Ah'm afraid." Rogue replied, relieved.
"Explain."
Bishop stepped forward.
We have a power-hungry despot tailing us who wants--" he pointed to Franklin "--this child. He holds a grudge against the boy's parents, and it's up to us to keep him away. Remy is the child's gardian."
Belle snorted.
"Gardian?" She stared at Remy. "Dis Remy LeBeau we talkin' about? A Gardian? De man could barely look after a group o' adults!"
"Dat's stoopin' kinda low, Belle." Remy retorted.
"Only as low as is appropr'ate. 'Sides, why should we own any o' you X-men sanctuary? Never said we'd be takin' you in anyways, so why should we?"
"Because yeh're kind and benevolent people, and yeh don't wanna get yeh eyeballs scratched out."
Lifeguard switched off her image inducer, momentarily surprising the guild matriarch. She bore a slightly feral expression, and twitched her massive wings and claws in anticipation.
Belladonna held gaze with the woman's avian eyes. She saw something she liked: ferocity to match her own. Surprising all the others, the assassin smiled.
"True. I have had use f'my eyesight on occasion. Consider de hostin' of dis party t'be a sign of m'good will. Questa!"
The shape-shifter trotted up to her side.
"Lead dese people to de guestrooms--firs' grab, firs' get."
The X-men allowed themselves to be led into the depths of the Guild safe house. Remy lagged behind a moment, flashing the matriarch a smile of gratitude before following and catching up to take Rogue's hand.
Belladonna watched after him, hanging her head a little in acknowledgement. She suppressed a sigh, knowing that gratitude was the most he would ever offer her again.
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Teri Baltimore awoke the strangest conversation.
"No, Grigori--I've tolden you--KFC does chicken right, Wendy's is one lets you have it your way!"
"It's telled! Learn correct English, Stan! When in Rome..."
"We are in New Orleans, idiot!"‡
Bolts fer brains, those blokes... Teri groggily thought to herself. Spent 'nough time 'round to know that Burger King lets you have it your way...
Teri's mind eventually began to realize the situation. She was tied to a chair, and she couldn't even wriggle her wrist. The room was rather dark, and she guessed that she was hearing the voices of her guards.
She turned the situation over in her mind once more. When she had met Lucas, he seemed fully absorbed into the LeBeau case. The case dealt with a series of mafia lord murders with the only clue being a trademark joker from a card deck. The prime suspect was Remy LeBeau, a mutant thief, who had been near the mafia lords at the time and used such cards in his work. No one had ever found any conclusive evidence that LeBeau had killed, or even stolen from anyone. Eventually, a new lead led to the culprit: an old usurper named 'The Examiner'.
But just because he wasn't guilty in that particular case--and had never been caught doing anything illegal--didn't make LeBeau an innocent. What frightened Teri the most was the thought that Lucas might have specifically put himself on the job to find an alternative to LeBeau's arrest. She clearly recalled the photograph she had seen before passing out. Both men were smiling, happy, and quite comfortable in the other's presence. They were friends, old friends.
Her gut twisted. There was only one thread of hope left in her. It was the thought that perhaps--LeBeau wasn't guilty, and that Lucas had sought to prove his innocence. But the Australian police woman hung her head once more, considering the unlikelihood of the thought.
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Record File: Engage. This is Cyclops recording. I'll probably have Gambit do the next entry, seeing how he's the "field leader" for this "mission". Doctor Victor Von Doom seems to be after Franklin Richards who has sought sanctuary with the X-men.
Currently, we've been forced to retreat to the United Guild of Thieves and Assassins. The mansion isn't quite as large as Xavier's, but it's impressive nonetheless. We've been led to the West wing where the guest rooms are kept. Jean and I didn't introduce ourselves as husband and wife, so we've been given separate rooms. LeBeau was supposed to return to his old room in the thieves' end of the place, but opted instead to take a room right next to Rogue's.
I know it's not protocol to use this as anything more than a historical record, but I feel like talking, and it's not like anyone besides me bothers to read these things anyway.
Perhaps it will make me feel better to admit some things. Namely, I'm jealous of Remy. It's strange, but thinking of him as "Remy" is entirely alien to me. I've never even pretended to understand him, and I've never really liked him, so thinking of him as "Gambit" has always been more than enough for me. But jealous of him? That's something new.
Sometimes, I'd give almost anything to begin all over again with Jean. Other times, I don't even want to think about her. LeBeau's relationship with Rogue seems utopian in comparison. He even has the beginnings of a family all his own--regardless of weather he sees it or not. I've checked with Sage, and seen that Franklin is actually Gambit's ward. He might as well be his son for how attached the boys already is to both him and Rogue.
I had a son once. But I was forced to give him away to the time-traveling Askani. When he came back, I didn't have a son as before. I had a soldier who hardly ever talks to me anymore. Not that we ever had any especially lengthy conversation.
And then there's the "field leader" thing. By checking the records--and I suspect that I'm the only one who bothers to do that--I found out that during the time I was gone, Gambit was the leader. Not only that, but he was acting as leader of the Guilds at the same time! The X-men knew this! And they let him be FIELD LEADER?!
I...I really shouldn't let my emotions get the better of me. No sense in bringing the people I talk about knocking on my door. But... I'm actually finding this therapeutic. I used to tell Jean everything. Now that we've become...estranged..., I find myself without a confidant.
It all comes back to Jean, doesn't it? The thing that--irritates--me most, is that she's hiding behind Remy. I try to look at her, and she pretends to be absorbed into whatever LeBeau is saying. I heard that while I was gone, she was one of the people who never complained about his duration as field leader. She's using his unspoken--mind you, it is unspoken--authority as a shield. She hides behind it to avoid me.
But does Gambit even know this? Does he know that Jean is hiding behind him to avoid me? That she hangs around him like a moth and its flame? Is he doing this for her due to some sort of friendship that's grown between them, or does he really not understand why she acts the way she does around him? Or has he even noticed at all? Now it's Jean that I find myself envious of. If only I could know what my teammates are thinking...but enough rambling. If someone sees how long this entry is, they might grow curious and read an old entry for once. Heaven forbid.
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"Sis, we need to talk."
Heather slumped her shoulders. She and Davis had not spoken since she and Neal had broken him out of the hospital.
"What's to talk about?"
Davis bit his lip.
"Well, I'm ready t'stop avoidin' yeh."
Lifeguard snorted sarcastically.
"You're ready? Oh, that's bloody brilliant, Davey! Let's stop the world from revolvin' around because you're ready! What 'bout me? What if I'm not ready?"
She placed her hands on her hips, expecting him to back down.
"Y'can't scare me anymore, Heather."
She grabbed his collar and snarled in his face.
"Well how 'bout this, Davey: You an' me are both freaks, even for mutants! There are a lota bad blighters out there who'd like t'kill us jus' 'cause our father was some sort o' mafia boss. And, I dunno if anyone's made this clear t'yeh yet, but our mother was an alien from another planet! Maybe another universe! Top it off, an' she was royalty! Maybe there're dozens more who wanna kill us for that! Look at me! The only reason I'm runnin' lose on the streets is 'cause I've got a hologram t'hide what I really look like. That, an' I haven't hurt anyone yet. Not yet, but I want to, Davey. I want to! I see some bloke on the street, an' my new instincts kick in: I start thinkin' o' him as prey, an' how easy he'd be to kill. An' you say you wanna talk? Well, you may wanna give this a lot o' thought, but I don't! I...I don't want to remember!"
She was crying now, and Davis could feel his own eyes beginning to tear.
"Oh, Heather...I...I didn't know..."
He reached his hand out to touch the metallic skin of her arm. She flinched away, but only at first. He grew bolder, and pulled her in for a hug. The adrenaline flew from her body, and Heather Cammeron suddenly felt very tired. Davis calmly held her weight as she clung to his shirt and slumped against him. He gritted his teeth in sympathetic silence as his sister's claws dug into his shoulder.
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"Ya planned this, didn't ya?"
"Moi? Chere, y'cut me t'de quick."
Remy and Rogue were in their respective guest rooms. Almost upon walking in, Rogue discovered that she could hear Remy's voice through a grate between their rooms. It seemed to her that he had recommended this room to her specifically for that reason.
"Thank ya."
"What for?"
"Bringin' us here. It must be hard for ya."
"Some bad memories here, chere, some good. 'Specialy good seein' Emil and Tante 'gain."
"Emil—the read-headed one, right? Emil Lapin?"
"Oui."
"Ah think Ah saw him makin' eyes at Sage."
"Or tryin' to."
Gambit gave an amused chuckle.
"What's so funny, sugah?"
"Lapin's a computer hacker"
Rogue laughed, and then yawned.
Eventually, Remy could hear her breathing slow as she drifted off into the world of dreams. Only then did he allow himself to become upset; he was so close, but still too far! With every hour he grew more aware of the presence of the ring in his trench coat pocket. But as much as he wanted to ignore protocol, he couldn't propose to Rogue in front of all the guild members.
Belladonna had barely allowed the X-men to stay, and through no machinations of his own. Given the history that he shared with her-their courtship, marriage, her seeming death, their parting of ways, and her still-lingering affection for him-to propose to Rogue now would be a slap in the face to the assassin matriarch. She would kick him and the X-men out of the house without a second thought, leaving them shelterless once again.
He rolled over in his futile efforts to sleep. No one had taken his old room, but he had decided to stay in the guest wing so he could be near Rogue. He nearly regretted it, for he recalled his own mattress to be far more comfortable than the one he was twisting on. Deciding to give up on sleep, Remy settled for simply lying in silence. Light breathing and the lingering presence of a little blonde-haired boy outside his door, however, were interrupting the silence.
"Come in, Franklin."
The creaking of the door was rather loud to his furtive ears, but the child ignored it, dragging a wool blanket, and teddy bear, and a thick book.
"What's dat?"
"It's a book."
"Well, I can see dat, mon ami, but what are it an' y'self doin' in m'room?"
"You're gonna read it to me."
It wasn't a question or a request, merely a fact. The boy was quite confidant that he would have a story read to him tonight, and that this adult would do the job. Remy stared. He had never read a book to a child before and it had never occurred to him that it might be in the job description of legal guardian.
"How?"
"Well, you open it up, an' there's a story inside. You read it out loud, an' when a person in the story talks, you make up a funny voice to go with 'em, an' use that voice when you're readin' that person."
"Ok, den."
He opened the book to the title page: The Princess Bride.
Bride? Wonderful. He rolled his eyes. A story involving marriage. He opened to the first page and began in his best story-telling voice, trying desperately not to dwell on all the trouble the topic had caused him.
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Author's Notes: MY GREATEST APOLOGIES FOR BEING LATE! Ironically, it has been exactly two months (Yes, EXACTLY) since I've continued, and I can only continue to appologize. That said, will be you nice and review anyway?
PS. FINALLY got the URL to the RI gallery working! Go to my author page for the address!
PPS. Anyone still interested in signing up for my mailing list?
